She had looked frightened.
Soft, Overwhelmed.
He had seen her pulse flutter beneath his gaze She had been on the verge of blooming again when he dismissed the generals.
She had not yet aligned herself with any faction.
Someone had taken advantage of that vulnerability.
Rage began to build in the supreme's chest, not the chaotic wildfire that had consumed cities, but something precise a scalpel of fury ready to excise the problem.
"If she was coerced," he said to the general beside him, his voice dropping to a temperature that frosted the air, "the men responsible will be executed. Slowly."
The general's jaw tightened until a muscle jumped beneath his scarred skin.
"Yes, Supreme."
The Supreme stalked toward the central junction, each footfall leaving microscopic cracks in the concrete. Men gathered under the transparent pretense of duty, their animal instincts betraying their curiosity.
